key words global politics midterm

Anarchy

No world government exists above sovereign states. For Waltz, anarchy shapes state behaviour because states must provide for their own security; for Bull, international society can still create order.

Defensive Realism

States primarily seek security rather than unlimited power. Excessive expansion can provoke balancing by other states and leave the aggressor less secure.

Greek and Italian city-states

Independent political communities such as ancient Athens and Renaissance Venice. They illustrate forms of political organisation that preceded the modern territorial nation-state.

Nationalism

The belief that a nation should have political self-determination. Renan emphasises shared memories and collective will; Anderson describes nations as imagined communities; Gellner links nationalism to the congruence of nation and state.

Democratic Peace Theory

The argument that democracies rarely fight one another. Liberal explanations emphasise democratic institutions, accountability and norms of compromise, although this does not mean democracies never wage war.

A Republic

A political system in which public authority is not held by a hereditary monarch. A republic may use elected representatives but is not necessarily fully democratic.

Classical Realism

A realist approach that explains power politics partly through human nature and political ambition. It differs from structural realism, which emphasises constraints imposed by the international system.

Decolonization and State Formation

The process through which colonies gained independence, especially after WWII. New states often inherited colonial borders and institutions that did not necessarily reflect national identities or provide effective state capacity.

Structural Realism

Waltz argues that international outcomes are shaped by anarchy and the distribution of capabilities. States occupy similar positions in an anarchic system but behave differently according to their relative power.

Bipolarity

An international system dominated by two major powers. The Cold War was bipolar because the US and Soviet Union were the principal competing superpowers.

Hegemon

A state with preponderant power that can shape international rules and institutions. Hegemonic leadership may support order but can also provoke resistance and balancing.

Nation-State

A state whose political boundaries broadly correspond to a nation sharing a collective identity. Anderson shows that national identity is socially imagined; in practice, many states contain multiple national groups.

Offensive Realism

Mearsheimer argues that great powers seek to maximise relative power and regional dominance because uncertainty about other states' intentions makes security difficult to guarantee.

Anarchical Society

Bull argues that states exist without world government but can form an international society through shared rules, interests and institutions. Anarchy therefore does not automatically mean disorder.

Preventive War

War intended to prevent an anticipated future shift in power that would weaken a state's position. It differs from pre-emptive war, which responds to a perceived imminent attack.

Treaty of Westphalia

The 1648 peace settlements ended the Thirty Years' War and are conventionally associated with sovereign statehood and non-interference. They are a reference point, not the sole origin of the modern state system.

Cold War

The post-1945 rivalry between the US and Soviet Union. Bipolar competition, ideological conflict, alliances and proxy wars characterised the period, while the superpowers avoided direct full-scale war against each other.

Wars of the Third Kind

Holsti's concept for conflicts often fought within states over political authority, legitimacy and the nature of the state, rather than mainly over territory between established states.

State-Making and War-Making

Tilly argues that warfare encouraged rulers to build armies, extract taxes and centralise administration. These processes helped consolidate European states, although war can also weaken states.

The State

A political organisation claiming authority over a population and territory. Formal sovereignty means recognised independence; effective sovereignty depends on the actual ability to govern and control territory.

Three Fundamental Goals of Society

Bull identifies protection from violence, keeping promises and stabilising possession as fundamental goals of social order. International society seeks to support these goals among states.

Liberal International Order

The post-WWII order associated with US leadership, international institutions, rules and economic openness. Ikenberry explains how institutions can constrain power and support cooperation, although the order reflects unequal power and has faced challenges.

Preemptive War

A war launched when a state believes an enemy attack is imminent. It differs from preventive war, which aims to stop an expected future shift in the balance of power before the threat becomes immediate.

Social Constructivism

An approach arguing that international politics is shaped by socially constructed ideas, identities and norms, not just material power. Barnett argues anarchy is given meaning by ideas, identities, and norms. Conflict or cooperation depends on how states perceive each other and what norms dominate.

Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali

Tunisia's authoritarian president from 1987 until 2011. His government combined repression with limited political openings; widespread anger over corruption, unemployment and repression helped trigger the Tunisian uprising of the Arab Spring.

Oligopoly

A market dominated by a small number of powerful firms. Because competition is limited, firms may influence prices and consumer choice.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

A US Supreme Court ruling that political spending by corporations and unions is protected under the First Amendment. It enabled greater independent political spending and intensified debate over money's influence on democratic politics.

Socialism

A political and economic tradition that favours social or public ownership, control, or regulation of productive resources to reduce inequality. Socialist systems vary, from democratic socialism to centrally planned economies.

Democracy

A system in which political authority ultimately depends on the people, through meaningful participation, political competition and accountability. Elections alone are insufficient if rights, opposition and genuine competition are absent.

Non-democratic Regimes

Political systems in which citizens lack meaningful control over rulers through free and fair competition. They may restrict opposition, civil liberties, political participation or accountability.

Clientelism

A system in which politicians exchange targeted benefits, jobs or resources for political support. It can build loyalty but undermines impartial public services and creates unequal access to state resources.

Totalitarianism

A regime seeking extensive control over political, social and often private life through ideology, repression, mass mobilisation and control of information.

Civil Society

Organisations and collective activity outside the state, such as charities, unions, advocacy groups and community associations. Civil society can organise citizens and hold governments accountable, though authoritarian states may restrict it.

Corporatism

A system in which the state formally organises or recognises major interest groups, such as labour and business, and channels their participation through controlled institutions. Authoritarian corporatism limits independent organisation.

One-party States

Political systems in which one party monopolises political power. Opposition parties are banned or cannot compete meaningfully, making leadership change through genuine multiparty elections unlikely.

Failed States

States whose institutions cannot reliably provide security, enforce law or deliver basic public services across their territory. Weak state capacity does not necessarily mean a country lacks international legal sovereignty.

Military Regimes

Regimes in which the armed forces control political authority, often after a coup. Leaders may justify rule through promises of order or national security while restricting civilian political competition.

Monarchical Regimes

Political systems headed by a monarch, usually through hereditary succession. Monarchies can be constitutional and democratic or authoritarian, depending on whether elected institutions constrain political power.

Sultanism

A form of authoritarian rule in which power is highly personalised around a ruler and their network of loyalists. Institutions and rules are subordinated to the ruler's personal interests, and access to resources often depends on loyalty.

Post-totalitarianism

A regime that has moved away from the most intense features of totalitarian rule but retains authoritarian institutions and restricted political competition. Some social autonomy and limited pluralism may emerge without genuine democracy.

Decolonization

The process through which colonies gain independence from imperial powers, especially after WWII. Newly independent states often inherited colonial borders and institutions that complicated nation-building and effective governance.

Hosni Mubarak

Egypt's president from 1981 to 2011. He maintained authoritarian rule through security forces, restricted opposition and managed elections; mass protests during the Arab Spring forced him from power in 2011.

Authoritarianism

A system in which political power is concentrated in a leader or small group and meaningful political competition is restricted. Some civil society or private life may remain outside state control.

Monopoly

A market in which a single firm dominates supply and faces little direct competition. It can influence prices and restrict output because consumers have few alternatives.

Theocracy

A political system in which religious authority or religious principles govern the state. Political legitimacy and law are justified through religious doctrine or institutions.

Two Forms of Popular Control

Lindblom distinguishes market control, where people influence producers through buying and selling, from polyarchy, where citizens influence government through elections and political participation.

Polyarchy

In Lindblom's comparison, polyarchy is a form of popular control through political processes such as elections and participation, contrasting with market control through consumer choices. It describes real-world approximations of democracy rather than perfect popular rule.

Procedural Definition of Democracy

A definition judging democracy by its procedures, such as free and fair elections, political competition, participation and civil liberties, rather than by whether policies produce particular outcomes.

Co-optation

A strategy through which rulers incorporate potential opponents into the regime by offering positions, resources or influence. It can reduce opposition and strengthen regime survival without requiring genuine democratic power-sharing.